June 01, 2008
INTERPACK is the world's premier international platform for showcasing the latest packaging technologies, equipment, and materials — and the recognized ideal venue for establishing business contacts with potential partners from around the world.
One of the most significant industry exhibitions, INTERPACK has been held in Düsseldorf since 1958, every three years. In 2008 it celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Exhibitors presented both solutions for standard task packages and highly sophisticated, high-tech systems for complex processes. INTERPACK serves as the best platform for demonstrating equipment and services.
This year, the exhibition occupied 19 exhibition halls. A new hall, 8b, with an area of 15,000 m², was built opposite hall 8a in time for INTERPACK 2008. The total exhibition area thus amounted to 170,000 m².
For the first time at the exhibition, the INNOVATIONPARC PACKAGING 2008 packaging innovation park was operational. Exhibition organizer Messe Düsseldorf joined forces with the industry portal of the European cartonboard producers' association Pro Carton and Cartonboard Mills to organize this park.
The work of such a major international forum was also attended by Russia's largest companies. Some of them had their own stands, while a number of companies worked within the collective stand organized by the Association of Packaging and Processing Equipment Manufacturers, PACMASH.
In the assessment of experts and exhibition participants, this event — a unique project on a global scale — is a kind of all-inclusive package for all those seeking optimal solutions for specific tasks within the packaging industry, or intending to secure a competitive advantage in the future by investing in innovative developments.
INTERPACK provides the opportunity to address various challenges facing companies — players in the packaging industry.
"Without any doubt, forums of this kind promote not only the global development of the packaging industry, but also the advancement of each individual participant. Because here the very latest technological innovations, the very latest achievements in design and production, and the most advanced brands are all concentrated in one place," notes Vladimir Plekhov, commercial director of ZAO NOTIS.
"Participation in INTERPACK in 2002 and 2005 gave our company the opportunity to clearly demonstrate its achievements on the same platform as well-known European manufacturers. As a result, our company gained new permanent customers in Russia and in foreign countries — customers whose representatives were able to evaluate the quality and standard of execution of our equipment, and compare it with foreign equivalents at an event of precisely this scale," shares her experience Svetlana Gegina, head of the marketing department of ZAO Tauras-Fenix.
In the assessment of Alexander Puzikov, commercial director of ZAO Bestrom and president of PACMASH, an exhibition of such scale actively promotes the business development of participating companies. "As for any company, participation in industry exhibitions is of very great importance," says Alexander Puzikov. "At exhibitions, new product samples are typically showcased, a company's image is confirmed, and of course new customers are attracted. INTERPACK really is the world's largest packaging exhibition. Participation in this exhibition is itself prestigious. It shows that the company has already grown to a global level."
INTERPACK demonstrates growth in the number of exhibitors and visitors with each edition. In 2005, 2,668 companies from around the world participated, and 176,000 visitors from 106 countries came to see the new materials and equipment — a record visitor count at the time. Analyzing the composition of participants and identifying the leaders, Svetlana Gegina shares her observations: "Traditionally, the leadership belonged to manufacturers from Germany and Italy. At present, many companies from Spain and France have appeared, and the number of enterprises from China and India has increased."
"Germany alone was represented by more than 800 firms, Italy by more than 400. Companies from China strengthened their representation — 100 firms," adds Vladimir Plekhov.
In Alexander Puzikov's opinion, besides the companies mentioned above, those from the UK, the Netherlands, the USA, Australia, Japan, Switzerland, France, South Korea, and Russia are also worthy of attention.
ZAO Tauras-Fenix is an experienced participant in such a professional forum as INTERPACK. Svetlana Gegina draws attention to the fact that some international packaging market players have managed to achieve impressive results in recent times.
For example, Ilapak and Bosch are powerful machinery manufacturing conglomerates that have built extensive networks with enormous reach. Recently, 18 German companies formed the OYSTAR group, which includes such packaging equipment manufacturers as Hamba, Hassia, and Gasti.
"Unfortunately, in our country the interests of investors, businesspeople, and developers are concentrated around other sectors than packaging equipment," says Vladimir Plekhov. "From all of vast Russia, only five packaging equipment manufacturers were represented at the exhibition. The same was evident from the absence of Russian visitors. In any case, on our stand they accounted for no more than two percent. The government and those who shape the country's macroeconomic processes have much to think about."
Svetlana Gegina speaks about the existing challenges: "It is very difficult to fight the prejudice against Russian-made equipment," and adds: "Exhibitions of this level help solve this problem and directly demonstrate the quality of equipment produced in Russia. I also want to note the genuine interest in our equipment from representatives of foreign competitor companies."
And Alexander Puzikov notes with pride that "the packaging industry has always been one of the most dynamically developing industrial sectors. This is typical of the Russian packaging equipment market as well. In my view, the prospects for our packaging equipment manufacturers are very good, since we have already learned to produce quite competitive machinery."
A positive outlook on the prospects for the packaging industry's development was also shared by Vladimir Plekhov: "Despite our small numbers, Russian companies felt quite confident at the global packaging technology forum. Firstly, the level of our developments is quite high; secondly, the Western market is so vast that there is a niche for products of every level. NOTIS brought to the exhibition its latest product from the series of DVK-12-2-NOTIS combination weighers. The fact that this technologically complex product was developed by us without copying established brands gives us confidence that in the near future we will not only be no inferior to our competitors, but will achieve many advantages over them."
Bestrom was participating in INTERPACK for the third time. It presented two packaging machines for filling bulk products into polymer films. One of them — the Bestrom-202M — for filling difficult-to-flow, dusty products such as spices, dry milk, starch, cocoa, and washing powders. The second — the Bestrom-220MK — is a new-generation continuous-action machine designed primarily for packaging snacks, with a very high output of up to 180 bags per minute.
According to company representatives, "the key goal of participating in the exhibition was to show that Bestrom is a machine manufacturer whose products are in no way inferior to world standards — and above all, to convince our potential clients of this. Judging by the feedback we received at the exhibition, we succeeded. The machines on display attracted interest from visitors from almost every continent: 30% of registered visitors were from Western Europe, 26% from Asia, 17% from Russia, 8% from CIS countries, 11% from Eastern Europe — and there were also representatives from Africa and the Americas."
The St. Petersburg machinery plant Tauras-Fenix, also participating in the exhibition with its own stand for the third consecutive time, demonstrated this year the operation of the high-output automatic Pastpak 4L line and the universal depositing machine Pitpak OP-2. In the opinion of specialists, the Pitpak OP-2 is unique — there are no other such universal machines for producing confectionery.
The equipment presented matched visitor interests perfectly, as 78% of them were interested in packaging machinery, and 14% in technological lines for confectionery production.
Svetlana Gegina gave a high assessment of Russian companies' products: "In my opinion, the Bestrom vertical automatic machine with continuous longitudinal seam sealing deserves attention. It was also interesting to see the equipment of NOTIS, which is participating in this event for the first time."
A NEW ERA OF PACKAGING IS ANNOUNCED
INTERPACK 2008 identified the key promising directions along which the packaging industry will develop in the near future.
"From a packaging perspective, a leading trend can be identified on the one hand as the active development of portioned individual packaging production, and on the other — the creation of large-format 'family' packaging," shares her observations Svetlana Gegina. "From a packaging equipment perspective, there is a trend toward the maximum possible automation of all production processes and the introduction of integrated packaging lines encompassing individual, group, and transport packaging."
Vladimir Plekhov draws attention to another important trend: "A mass proliferation of servo motors is being observed. Electric drives, thanks to their high speed of response and good controllability, appear to be irreversibly displacing pneumatics."
Market specialists unanimously note yet another important feature of the current stage of packaging technology market development. "Perhaps the most noticeable trend in packaging technology is the growing role of robotics in the technologies used. Robotic manipulators have come into widespread use in processes of both individual and group packaging. Thanks to their remarkable ability to orient themselves in space, recognize objects, and move them carefully and quickly, robots are increasingly displacing cumbersome specialized machines that are incapable of reconfiguration," says Vladimir Plekhov. In Alexander Puzikov's observation, "right now, enormous attention is being paid to the automation of packaging processes and the creation of integrated packaging lines. The labor of workers engaged in packaging is becoming very expensive, and the introduction of high-speed automatic lines — including robotics — is increasingly cost-effective. Such trends apply to Russia as well, especially at large enterprises. The age of primitive, low-output machines is becoming a thing of the past."
It only remains to add: long live the new age! And to wish Russian companies the leading positions within it.
Produkty & Pribyl